One Hobbyist's Stunning Collection of Beetles From Around the World

Onthophagus imperator, India.
“I love all beetles,” Schmidt told Wired. But this one is a particular favorite, he said.

Batocera wallacei, “Wallace’s long-horn beetle,” New Guinea.

Aspidomorpha miliaris, “Spotted tortoise beetle,” India.

Broxylus pfeifferi, Indonesia.

Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus, “cabbage stem weevil,” Germany.

Enema pan, Peru.

Cyrtonota sexpustulata, Brazil.

Stolas chalybaea, Brazil.

Stolas mannerheimi, Peru.

Udo Schmidt, a retired researcher from Germany's Federal Center for Meat Research in Bavaria, has been collecting beetles since his late 20s. Now, at 70, his beetle drawers have swelled to 30,000 specimens representing more than 6,000 species.

Schmidt is also a talented photographer, and has digitally archived his stunning collection on his website and Flickr.

“Since more than 350,000 species of beetles have been classified, and I have published photos of just 1,600 of them, there is absolutely no danger that I will run out of work,” Schmidt told Wired.

Schmidt’s hobby has taken him to 22 countries around the world. “I prefer to collect in Africa, in the dung of mammals,” he said.

He is inspired by the “overwhelming variety of shapes and colors, beauty and elegance,” of beetles – the largest group of insects in the world. Evolutionary biologists struggle to explain this seemingly excessive diversity.